10-02-05 Bakersfield,
CA. Once again Greg Sharp, Sam Jackson, Steve Gibbs and the entire
NHRA Motorsports Museum staff gave us yet another unforgettable
weekend. CHRR 14 was three days of hot weather filled with non
stop action and events punctuated with a 49 car Cacklefest on
Saturday night. Emotions ran high as old friends were reunited,
fallen comrades remembered, legends honored and some incredibly
close racing contested. I'm way done saying, "It can't get
any better than this." Because every year it does.

Saturday saw
a huge crowd pack Famoso Raceway for Nostalgia Top Fuel qualifying
and round one of eliminations under the lights. Come Sunday,
a smaller but equally enthusiastic crowd was treated to the last
three rounds of the quickest 16 car NTF show in history. For
the High Speed Motorsports - Plaza Hotel fueler this was a good
news, bad news event. Bellemeur qualified #1 with a stunning
5.86 at 253 MPH - he won his first round of eliminations - he
made a mistake all great drivers have suffered - a oh so close
red light in round two. Photos and full story below.

FRIDAY
QUALIFYING - SESSION ONE

The first of
two qualifying sessions went off at 3:10 pm and it was HOT (95
degrees)! Sean Bellemeur in the High Speed Motorsports-Plaza
Hotel rocket was paired with Rick Williamson in the "Hot
Rod Bills" car.

Bellemeur backs up from
his burnout at the direction of Walt Stevens.

Brett Johansen makes the final
adjustments to the injector just prior to Bellemeur staging while
the tires are being scraped for maximum traction.

Sean Bellemeur climbs into the
car to warm/test the engine prior to the second qualifying session.
This is a routine performed every time the car is going to make
a pass albeit qualifying or eliminations.

Brett Johansen checks the data
computer as Tom Shelar has Bellemeur test the clutch and reverser.

SATURDAY
AFTERNOON QUALIFYING SESSION TWO

Paired in the second qualifying
session were the "Young Lions". Without a doubt the
two best second generation drivers in NTF today. Adam Sorokin
(it's in the genes) and Sean Bellemeur (also in the genes).

Sorokin had problems in VanDyke's
car Friday and needed this final shot to make the show. Bellemeur
was solidly in with his previous 5.991 at 246.03.

Both cars left super hard and
when the clocks lit up Bellemeur had set low ET and top speed
of the event (to that point) with a stunning 5.868 at 253.87.
Sorokin went in right behind him with his first five second pass
5.935 at 234.92.

September 30
- October 02, 2005 - Bakersfield, CA - Final order after 2 rounds
of qualifying in Nostalgia Top Fuel at the 14th California Hot
Rod Reunion. This was the quickest 16 car field in history.

Nitro under the lights
(4th pair) featured Sean Bellemeur and Mark Hyla.

What a drag race!
Bellemeur did his job with a 0.050 light and the the tuners did
their job as well carding a 5.948 at 248.48 win. Sean ran 202
mph to Hyla's 197 at half track.Hyla was right there with a 5.967
at 224.04 (the cars first five second pass). Bellemeur's MOV:
0.1150 seconds (approximately 38 feet).

Awards and pre
race ceremonies done it was time for the remaining 8 cars to
do battle. Bellemeur was paired with Rick Williamson.

As always, Walt
Stevens backed up Bellemeur from his burnout while Brett Johansen
marked the spot he wanted the left rear tire for maximum traction.

The smart money
would have been on Bellemeur but has said so many time before,
drag races are not run on paper.

The big
ol' red light in Sean's lane said it was all over at the hit.

Bellemeur, one
of the best leavers in the business, said this was his first
red light in seven years and it was a close one (-0.009). To
rub salt into the wound he ran a 5.915 at 247.79 to Williamson's
slower 6.029 at 248.07.

Before the final
round of eliminations the Plaza Hotel team brought the car out
for a test run. This was done for a dual purpose. One, to let
Bellemeur get another shot at the lights and get his mind off
the redlight as nobody beats themselves up worse than a driver
when those happen. The other reason was to test a tune-up change.